Arms to Israel - our response

The following letter has been sent to Stratford on Avon MP Manuela Perteghella in response to the government's partial suspension of arms exports to Israel: 

"Dear Manuela

We are very glad that the Liberal Democrats continue to press the government to cease the export of British arms to Israel, given the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and we are pleased with Layla Moran’s recent press release which highlighted the risk of these weapons being used in the West Bank as well as in Gaza.

So, we welcome the recent announcement from the Foreign Secretary that the UK is suspending around 30 out of some 350 arms export licences for military equipment for Israel, but we trust that you and your party agree with Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, that though this decision seems to demonstrate that the government accepts the evidence of war crimes in Gaza, the suspension of licences is too limited and allows for too many loopholes.

Amnesty wants to see a complete halt - with no loopholes - to all UK arms transfers to Israel.

We endorse Baroness Helena Kennedy’s recent challenge to the UK government ‘to use the loudest and clearest voice on the global stage to prevent mass atrocity violence’, and we look to the Liberal Democrats to hold the government to account. We have every confidence that they will do so..

All best wishes

Penny Freedman

(Chair, Stratford-upon-Avon Amnesty Group)"